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Early differences in sensory responsiveness may contribute to difficulties with communication among autistic children; however, this theory has not been longitudinally assessed in infants at increased familial versus general population-level likelihood for autism (Sibs-autism vs. Sibs-NA) using a comprehensive battery of sensory responsiveness and communication. In a sample of 40 infants (20 Sibs-autism, of whom six were later diagnosed with autism; 20 Sibs-NA), we tested (a) associations between sensory responsiveness at 12–18 months and communication 9 months later and (b) evaluated whether such associations were moderated by sibling group, autism diagnosis, or age. We found negative zero-order correlations between sensory responsiveness (i.e., caregiver reported hyperresponsiveness and hyporesponsiveness; an observational measure of hyperresponsiveness) and later communication. Additionally, caregiver reported sensory seeking was negatively associated with later expressive communication only in Sibs-NA. Limitations include our relatively small sample size of infants diagnosed with autism. Implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study evaluates the extent to which automated indices of vocal development are stable and valid for predicting language in infants at increased familial likelihood for autism and/or language impairment and relatively lower likelihood infants. Method: A group of infants with autistic siblings (Sibs-autism; 20 infants) and a comparison group of infants with non-autistic siblings (Sibs-NA; 20 infants) wore Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) recording devices for 16 hr on 2 days within a 1-week period. Extant software was used to derive several putative indices of vocal development from these recordings. Stability of these variables was examined across and within groups. Expressive and receptive language aggregates were calculated for each participant. Multiple regression analyses were used to (a) evaluate zero-order correlations for variables derived from LENA recordings with concurrent and future language and (b) test whether those associations were moderated by group status. Results: Both stability and validity differed by variable and group status. All variables reached acceptable stability in the Sibs-autism group within two to three observations, whereas stability of most variables was attenuated in the Sibs-NA group. No variables were associated with concurrent language in the theoretically motivated direction across groups, but two variables were strongly associated with concurrent expressive language in only the Sibs-NA group. Additionally, two variables were associated with later expressive language, though these correlations were again stronger in the Sibs-NA versus Sibs-autism group. Conclusions: Although selected automated indices of vocal development were stable in Sibs-autism and/or valid for predicting expressive language within Sibs-NA, no scores showed strong, theoretically motivated associations with language within the Sibs-autism group. Automated indices of vocal development may, thus, have limited validity or clinical utility for predicting language development in infants at elevated familial likelihood for autism. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.24415735 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences in audiovisual integration are commonly observed in autism. Temporal binding windows (TBWs) of audiovisual speech can be trained (i.e., narrowed) in non-autistic adults; this study evaluated a computer-based perceptual training in autistic youth and assessed whether treatment outcomes varied according to individual characteristics. Thirty autistic youth aged 8–21 were randomly assigned to a brief perceptual training (n = 15) or a control condition (n = 15). At post-test, the perceptual training group did not differ, on average, on TBWs for trained and untrained stimuli and perception of the McGurk illusion compared to the control group. The training benefited youth with higher language and nonverbal IQ scores; the training caused widened TBWs in youth with co-occurring cognitive and language impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explaining individual differences in vocabulary in autism is critical, as understanding and using words to communicate are key predictors of long-term outcomes for autistic individuals. Differences in audiovisual speech processing may explain variability in vocabulary in autism. The efficiency of audiovisual speech processing can be indexed via amplitude suppression, wherein the amplitude of the event-related potential (ERP) is reduced at the P2 component in response to audiovisual speech compared to auditory-only speech. This study used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure P2 amplitudes in response to auditory-only and audiovisual speech and norm-referenced, standardized assessments to measure vocabulary in 25 autistic and 25 nonautistic children to determine whether amplitude suppression (a) differs or (b) explains variability in vocabulary in autistic and nonautistic children. A series of regression analyses evaluated associations between amplitude suppression and vocabulary scores. Both groups demonstrated P2 amplitude suppression, on average, in response to audiovisual speech relative to auditory-only speech. Between-group differences in mean amplitude suppression were nonsignificant. Individual differences in amplitude suppression were positively associated with expressive vocabulary through receptive vocabulary, as evidenced by a significant indirect effect observed across groups. The results suggest that efficiency of audiovisual speech processing may explain variance in vocabulary in autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autistic youth demonstrate differences in processing multisensory information, particularly in temporal processing of multisensory speech. Extensive research has identified several key brain regions for multisensory speech processing in non-autistic adults, including the superior temporal sulcus (STS) and insula, but it is unclear to what extent these regions are involved in temporal processing of multisensory speech in autistic youth. As a first step in exploring the neural substrates of multisensory temporal processing in this clinical population, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a simultaneity-judgment audiovisual speech task. Eighteen autistic youth and a comparison group of 20 non-autistic youth matched on chronological age, biological sex, and gender participated. Results extend prior findings from studies of non-autistic adults, with non-autistic youth demonstrating responses in several similar regions as previously implicated in adult temporal processing of multisensory speech. Autistic youth demonstrated responses in fewer of the multisensory regions identified in adult studies; responses were limited to visual and motor cortices. Group responses in the middle temporal gyrus significantly interacted with age; younger autistic individuals showed reduced MTG responses whereas older individuals showed comparable MTG responses relative to non-autistic controls. Across groups, responses in the precuneus covaried with task accuracy, and anterior temporal and insula responses covaried with nonverbal IQ. These preliminary findings suggest possible differences in neural mechanisms of audiovisual processing in autistic youth while highlighting the need to consider participant characteristics in future, larger-scale studies exploring the neural basis of multisensory function in autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interoception, the body's perception of its own internal states, is thought to be altered in autism, though results of empirical studies have been inconsistent. The current study systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed the extant literature comparing interoceptive outcomes between autistic (AUT) and neurotypical (NT) individuals, determining which domains of interoception demonstrate robust between-group differences. A three-level Bayesian meta-analysis compared heartbeat counting performance, heartbeat discrimination performance, heartbeat counting confidence ratings, and self-reported interoceptive attention between AUT and NT groups (15 studies; nAUT = 467, nNT = 478). Autistic participants showed significantly reduced heartbeat counting performance [g = − 0.333, CrI95% (− 0.535, − 0.138)] and higher confidence in their heartbeat counting abilities [g = 0.430, CrI95% (0.123, 0.750)], but groups were equivalent on other meta-analyzed outcomes. Implications for future interoception research in autism are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of life is widely acknowledged as one of the most important outcomes in autism research, but few measures of this construct have been validated for use in autistic people. The goal of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global–10, an established self-report measure of health-related quality of life, in a sample of 901 autistic adults (predominantly female and adult-diagnosed) recruited from the Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge cohort. Using an item response theory framework, we performed a comprehensive psychometric evaluation of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global–10 in this sample, examining its latent structure, differential item functioning, reliability, and construct validity. After developing an autism-specific measurement model, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global–10 demonstrated excellent psychometric properties in the current sample, including excellent model-data fit, high reliability, minimal differential item functioning across subgroups of autistic adults, and an expected pattern of correlations with external variables. Exploratory analyses indicated that lower quality of life was associated with female sex and identified as a sexual/gender minority. A free online score calculator has been created to facilitate the use and interpretation of normed Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global–10 general quality of life latent trait scores for clinical and research applications (available at https://asdmeasures.shinyapps.io/promis%5fqol). Quality of Life an outcome that both researchers and autistic advocates agree is extremely important to consider when implementing services, interventions, and supports for autistic people. However, there has been little research on the topic of how quality of life can best be measured in autistic people or whether existing quality of life questionnaires are appropriate for use in the autistic population. This study aimed to validate an established quality of life measure, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global–10, in a large sample of autistic adults recruited online. We created a new way to score the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global–10 scale and generate a "General quality of life" score specific to autistic adults. This new score performed very well in this sample, showing very little measurement error and relating in expected ways to similar constructs, such as physical health and emotional distress. Exploratory analyses found that lower quality of life was associated with female sex and self-identification as a sexual or gender minority (i.e. LGBTQ + identity). These findings suggest that the new Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global–10 quality of life score is a reliable and valid measure of quality of life in autistic adults, although additional studies are necessary to further explore its measurement properties in other subsets of the autistic population, such as individuals with intellectual disabilities. This measure is freely available for use as an outcome in both research and clinical practice, and an online score calculator is available to support the use of this measure in real-world applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autistic children show reduced multisensory integration of audiovisual speech stimuli in response to the McGurk illusion. Previously, it has been shown that adults can integrate sung McGurk tokens. These sung speech tokens offer more salient visual and auditory cues, in comparison to the spoken tokens, which may increase the identification and integration of visual speech cues in autistic children. Forty participants (20 autism, 20 non-autistic peers) aged 7–14 completed the study. Participants were presented with speech tokens in four modalities: auditory-only, visual-only, congruent audiovisual, and incongruent audiovisual (i.e., McGurk; auditory 'ba' and visual 'ga'). Tokens were also presented in two formats: spoken and sung. Participants indicated what they perceived via a four-button response box (i.e., 'ba', 'ga', 'da', or 'tha'). Accuracies and perception of the McGurk illusion were calculated for each modality and format. Analysis of visual-only identification indicated a significant main effect of format, whereby participants were more accurate in sung versus spoken trials, but no significant main effect of group or interaction effect. Analysis of the McGurk trials indicated no significant main effect of format or group and no significant interaction effect. Sung speech tokens improved identification of visual speech cues, but did not boost the integration of visual cues with heard speech across groups. Additional work is needed to determine what properties of spoken speech contributed to the observed improvement in visual accuracy and to evaluate whether more prolonged exposure to sung speech may yield effects on multisensory integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Caregivers of autistic children present with high stress levels, which have been associated with poorer child outcomes in several domains, including language development. However, prior to this study, it was unknown whether elevated caregiver stress was associated with language development in infant siblings of autistic children (Sibs-autism), who are at increased likelihood of receiving a future diagnosis of autism and/or language impairment compared to infant siblings of non-autistic children. This study explored the degree to which, as well as the mechanisms by which, caregiver stress was linked with later language outcomes of Sibs-autism and infant siblings of non-autistic children (Sibs-NA). Method: Participants were 50 infants (28 Sibs-autism; 22 Sibs-NA) aged 12– 18 months at the first time point in this study (Time 1). Infants were seen again 9 months later, at 21–27 months of age (Time 2). Caregiver stress was measured via a validated self-report measure at Time 1. Caregiver language input, the putative mechanism by which caregiver stress may influence later language outcomes, was collected via two daylong recordings from digital recording (Language ENvironment Analysis) devices worn by the child at this same time point. Child language outcomes were measured via standardized and caregiver report measures at Time 2. Results: Several models testing hypothesized indirect effects of caregiver stress on later child language outcomes through caregiver language input were statistically significant. Specifically, significant indirect effects suggest that (a) caregivers with increased stress tend to speak less to their infants, and (b) this reduced language input tends to covary with reduced child language outcomes later in life for Sibs-autism and Sibs-NA. Conclusions: This study provides new insights into links between caregiver stress, caregiver language input, and language outcomes in Sibs-autism and Sibs-NA. Further work is necessary to understand how to best support caregivers and optimize the language learning environments for infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Misophonia is a newly described disorder of sound tolerance characterized by strong negative emotional reactions to specific "trigger" sounds, resulting in significant distress, pathological avoidance, and impairment in daily life. Research on misophonia is still in its infancy, and most existing psychometric tools for assessing misophonia symptoms have not been extensively validated. The purpose of the current study was to introduce and psychometrically validate the duke-vanderbilt Misophonia Screening Questionnaire (DVMSQ), a novel self-report measure of misophonia symptoms that can be used to determine misophonia "caseness" in clinical and research settings. Employing large online samples of general population adults (n = 1403) and adults on the autism spectrum (n = 936), we rigorously evaluated the internal structure, reliability, validity, and measurement invariance of the DVMSQ. Results indicated that 17 of the 20 original DVMSQ items fit well to a bifactor structure with one "general misophonia" factor and four specific factors (anger/aggression, distress/avoidance, impairment, and global impact). DVMSQ total and subscale scores were highly reliable in both general population and autistic adult samples, and the measure was found to be approximately invariant across age, sex, education level, and autism status. DVMSQ total scores also correlated strongly with another measure of misophonia symptoms (Duke Misophonia Questionnaire-Symptom Scale), with correlations between these two measures being significantly stronger than correlations between the DVMSQ and scales measuring other types of sound intolerance (Inventory of Hyperacusis Symptoms [General Loudness subscale] and DSM-5 Severity Measure for Specific Phobia [modified for phonophobia]). Additionally, DVMSQ items were used to operationalize diagnostic criteria for misophonia derived from the Revised Amsterdam Criteria, which were further updated to reflect a recent consensus definition of misophonia (published after the development of the DVMSQ). Using the new DVMSQ algorithm, 7.3% of general population adults and 35.5% of autistic adults met criteria for clinically significant misophonia. Although additional work is needed to further investigate the psychometric properties of the DVMSQ and validate its theory-based screening algorithm using best-estimate clinical diagnoses, this novel measure represents a potentially useful tool to screen for misophonia and quantify symptom severity and impairment in both autistic adults and the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with autism show alterations in multisensory integration that have been theoretically and empirically linked with the core and related features of autism. It is unclear, however, to what extent multisensory integration maps onto features of autism within children with and without autism. This study, thus, evaluates relations between audiovisual integration and core and related autism features across children with and without autism. Thirty-six children reported perceptions of the McGurk illusion during a psychophysical task. Parents reported on participants' autistic features. Increased report of illusory percepts tended to covary with reduced autistic features and greater communication skill. Some relations, though, were moderated by group. This work suggests that associations between multisensory integration and higher-order skills are present, but in some instances vary according to diagnostic group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looking to the mouth of a talker early in life predicts expressive communication. We hypothesized that looking at a talker's mouth may signal that infants are ready for increased supported joint engagement and that it subsequently facilitates prelinguistic vocal development and translates to broader gains in expressive communication. We tested this hypothesis in 50 infants aged 6–18 months with the heightened and general population‐level likelihood of autism diagnosis (Sibs‐autism and Sibs‐NA; respectively). We measured infants' gaze to a speaker's face using an eye‐tracking task, supported joint engagement during parent–child free play sessions, vocal complexity during a communication sample, and broader expressive communication. Looking at the mouth was indirectly associated with expressive communication via increased higher‐order supported joint engagement and vocal complexity. This indirect effect did not vary according to sibling status. This study provides preliminary insights into the mechanisms by which looking at the mouth may influence expressive communication development. At birth, infants tend to look predominantly at the eyes of their communication partners. Midway through the first year of life, however, infants begin to look increasingly at the mouth of a talker producing audiovisual speech. This developmental change has been linked with the development of communication in both theory and research. The present study provides novel insights into precisely how looking at the mouth may scaffold communication development in infant siblings of children with and without autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals on the autism spectrum are reported to display alterations in interoception, the sense of the internal state of the body. The Interoception Sensory Questionnaire (ISQ) is a 20-item self-report measure of interoception specifically intended to measure this construct in autistic people. The psychometrics of the ISQ, however, have not previously been evaluated in a large sample of autistic individuals. Methods: Using confirmatory factor analysis, we evaluated the latent structure of the ISQ in a large online sample of adults on the autism spectrum and found that the unidimensional model fit the data poorly. Using misspecification analysis to identify areas of local misfit and item response theory to investigate the appropriateness of the seven-point response scale, we removed redundant items and collapsed the response options to put forth a novel eight-item, five-response choice ISQ. Results: The revised, five-response choice ISQ (ISQ-8) showed much improved fit while maintaining high internal reliability. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses indicated that the items of the ISQ-8 were answered in comparable ways by autistic adolescents and adults and across multiple other sociodemographic groups. Limitations: Our results were limited by the fact that we did not collect data for typically developing controls, preventing the analysis of DIF by diagnostic status. Additionally, while this study proposes a new 5-response scale for the ISQ-8, our data were not collected using this method; thus, the psychometric properties for the revised version of this instrument require further investigation. Conclusion: The ISQ-8 shows promise as a reliable and valid measure of interoception in adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum, but additional work is needed to examine its psychometrics in this population. A free online score calculator has been created to facilitate the use of ISQ-8 latent trait scores for further studies of autistic adolescents and adults (available at https://asdmeasures.shinyapps.io/ISQ_score/). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Differences in communication development impact long-term outcomes of children with autism. Previous research has identified factors associated with communication in children with autism, but much of the variance in communication skill remains unexplained. It has been proposed that early differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e., hyporesponsiveness, hyperresponsiveness, and sensory seeking) may produce “cascading effects” on communication. Evidence for this theory is limited, however, as relations between sensory responsiveness and communication in the earliest stages of development have not been well established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate (a) whether infants with a heightened likelihood of autism diagnosis (i.e., infants with an older sibling with autism) differ from infants at general population–level likelihood of autism (i.e., infants with an older, nonautistic sibling) on patterns of sensory responsiveness, (b) whether early sensory responsiveness is correlated with concurrent communication, and (c) whether the aforementioned betweengroups differences and associations are moderated by age. Method: Participants were 40 infants (20 infants with an older sibling with autism, 20 infants with an older, nonautistic sibling) aged 12–18 months. A series of observational and parent report measures of sensory responsiveness and communication skill were administered. Results: Group differences in sensory responsiveness across the 12- to 18-month period were limited (i.e., only observed for one measure of hyporesponsiveness), though selected differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e., parent-reported hyperresponsiveness and sensory seeking) emerged between groups over this developmental window. Parent-reported hyporesponsiveness was unconditionally, negatively associated with communication skills. Associations between expressive communication and (a) parent-reported sensory seeking and (b) an observational measure of hyperresponsiveness were moderated by age. Conclusions: This study provides new insights into the nature of sensory responsiveness and theorized links with communication skill in infants at elevated and general population–level likelihood of autism diagnosis. Further work is needed to better characterize the effects of interest in a larger sample spanning a wider age range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Hyperacusis is a complex and poorly understood auditory disorder characterized by decreased tolerance to sound at levels that would not trouble most individuals. Recently, it has been suggested that individuals who experience otalgia in response to everyday sounds (termed pain hyperacusis) may differ clinically from those whose primary symptom is the perception of everyday sounds as excessively loud (termed loudness hyperacusis). Despite this theoretical distinction, there have been no empirical studies directly comparing these two populations of hyperacusis patients. Method: Using data from a multinational patient registry (the Coordination of Rare Diseases at Sanford Registry), we examined self-reported demographics, symptoms, comorbidity, and response to treatment in a sample of 243 adults with hyperacusis, 152 of whom were classified as having pain hyperacusis based on reported symptoms. Bayesian statistical tests were used to investigate both the presence and absence of group differences between patients with loudness and pain hyperacusis. Results: Individuals with pain hyperacusis presented with a more severe clinical phenotype, reporting a higher frequency of temporary symptom exacerbations (i.e., "setbacks"), less perceived symptom improvement over time, more severe comorbid headache disorders, and reduced benefit from sound therapy. However, the two hypothesized hyperacusis subtypes exhibited more similarities than differences, with the majority of symptoms and comorbidities being equally prevalent across groups. Multiple comorbidities were commonly observed, including tinnitus, primary headache disorders, psychiatric disorders, and functional somatic syndromes. Intolerance of sensory stimuli in other modalities was also frequently reported. Conclusion: Although this study provides little evidence that loudness and pain hyperacusis are pathophysiologically distinct conditions, our findings indicate that a painpredominant phenotype may be a meaningful prognostic marker in patients with hyperacusis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Altered dopamine (DA) signaling has been associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition estimated to impact 1 in 54 children in the United States. There is growing evidence for alterations in both gastrointestinal function and oral microbiome composition in ASD. Recent work suggests that rare variants of the SLC6A3 gene encoding the DA transporter (DAT) identified in individuals with ASD result in structural and functional changes to the DAT. One such recently identified de novo mutation is a threonine to methionine substitution at position 356 of the DAT (DAT T356M). The DAT T356M variant is associated with ASD-like phenotypes in mice homozygous for the mutation (DAT T356M+/+), including social deficits, hyperactivity, and impaired DA signaling. Here, we determine the impact of this altered DA signaling as it relates to altered oral microbiota, and metabolic and gastrointestinal dysfunction. Methods: In the DAT T356M+/+ mouse, we determine the oral microbiota composition, metabolic function, and gastrointestinal (GI) function. We examined oral microbiota by 16S RNA sequencing. We measured metabolic function by examining glucose tolerance and we probed gastrointestinal parameters by measuring fecal dimensions and weight. Results: In the DAT T356M+/+ mouse, we evaluate how altered DA signaling relates to metabolic dysfunction and altered oral microbiota. We demonstrate that male DAT T356M+/+ mice weigh less (Wild type (WT) = 26.48 ± 0.6405 g, DAT T356M+/+ = 24.14 ± 0.4083 g) and have decreased body fat (WT = 14.89 ± 0.6206%, DAT T356M+/+ = 12.72 ± 0.4160%). These mice display improved glucose handling (WT = 32.60 ± 0.3298 kcal/g, DAT T356M+/+ = 36.97 ± 0.4910 kcal/g), and an altered oral microbiota. We found a significant decrease in Fusobacterium abundance. The abundance of Fusobacterium was associated with improved glucose handling and decreased body fat. Conclusions: Our findings provide new insights into how DAT dysfunction may alter gastrointestinal function, composition of the oral microbiota, and metabolism. Our data suggest that impaired DA signaling in ASD is associated with a number of metabolic and gastrointestinal changes which are common in individuals with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the quality of evidence supporting the effects of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NBDIs) for facilitating change in young children with autism. We also investigated whether effects varied as a function of specific features of the intervention, samples, and outcomes measured. Twenty‐seven studies testing the effects of NDBIs were extracted from data collected for the Autism Intervention Meta‐analysis (Project AIM), a comprehensive meta‐analysis of group design, nonpharmacological intervention studies for children with autism aged 0–8 years. We extracted effect sizes for 454 outcomes from these studies for use in meta‐regression analyses testing associations between intervention effects and mean participant chronological age, language age, autism symptomatology, percentage of sample reported as male, cumulative intervention intensity, interventionist, outcome boundedness, outcome proximity, and risk of parent/teacher training correlated measurement error. The extant literature on NDBIs documents effects on social communication, language, play, and cognitive outcomes. However, our confidence in the positive and significant summary effects for these domains is somewhat limited by methodological concerns. Intervention effects were larger for context‐bound outcomes (relative to generalized), and for proximal outcomes (relative to distal). Our results indicate that NDBIs have promise as an approach for supporting development for some, but not all of the core and related features of autism in early childhood. Confidence in summary effect estimates is limited by study quality concerns, particularly an overreliance on measures subject to high detection bias. The results of this review support the use of proximity and boundedness as indicators of the limits of intervention effects. Lay summary: Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions may increase language, social communication, play skills, and cognition in young children with autism, but these increases are largest for skills directly targeted by the intervention, and in contexts that are similar to that of the intervention. These conclusions are tempered by some concerns regarding research design across the studies that have been conducted to date. Autism Res 2021, 14: 817–834. © 2021 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our team examined 150 reports on group-design, non-pharmacological interventions for young autistic children, to determine the prevalence of adverse event reporting. We found that only 11 studies mentioned adverse events; one indicated adverse events occurred, and an additional three indicated adverse effects occurred (i.e. adverse events that could be attributed to the intervention). We also coded reasons for participant withdrawal and found that of the 54 studies that reported reasons for withdrawal, 10 studies reported reasons that could be categorized as adverse events, 8 reported reasons that could be categorized as adverse effects, and an additional 12 studies reported reasons that were too vaguely described to determine adverse event status. We recommend that autism intervention researchers make concerted efforts to monitor, classify, and report adverse events so that practitioners, policy-makers, and families are better equipped to weigh potential benefits of interventions against potential harms. In this study, we looked at published research on interventions for young autistic children that did not involve administering medication. We were interested in determining how often studies reported on whether adverse events (i.e. physical or psychological distress to the participants) or adverse effects (i.e. adverse events that are thought to be caused by the intervention) had occurred. We found that of the 150 reports we examined, only 11 mentioned adverse events. One of these studies reported adverse events occurred, and three reported that adverse effects occurred. We also reviewed the studies to examine the reasons that were given to explain why any participants dropped out of the intervention (termed "withdrawal"), to determine if any of these reasons could be considered adverse events or adverse effects. Fifty-four studies described reasons for withdrawal, and 10 of these studies had reasons that could be categorized as an adverse event, 8 studies had reasons that could be categorized as an adverse effect, and an additional 12 studies had reasons that were too vaguely described to determine whether they were adverse events or not. We recommend that autism intervention researchers develop more systematic methods of looking for and reporting adverse events and effects, so that professionals and families can be better informed when choosing to enroll their autistic children in interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The presence, types, disclosure rates, and effects of conflicts of interest (COIs) on autism early intervention research have not previously been studied. The purpose of this study was to examine these issues. Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of a comprehensive meta‐analysis of all group‐design, nonpharmacological early intervention autism research conducted between 1970 and 2018. We coded reports for the presence/absence of COI statements, the types of COIs that were disclosed, and for 8 types of COIs, including (a) the author developed the intervention, (b) the author is affiliated with a clinical provider, (c) the author is employed by a clinical provider, (d) the author is affiliated with an institution that trains others to use the intervention, (e) the author receives payment or royalties related to the intervention, (f) the study was funded by an intervention provider, (g) the study used a commercially available measure developed by the author, and (h) proceeds of the intervention fund the author's research. Frequencies and proportions were calculated to determine prevalence of COIs and COI disclosures. Meta‐analysis was used to estimate summary effects by COI type and to determine if they were larger than for reports with no coded COIs. Results: Seventy percent of reports were coded for ≥ 1 COI, but only ~ 6% of reports contained COI statements fully accounting for all coded COIs. Metaregressions did not detect significant influences of any COI type on summary effects; however, point estimates for each COI type were larger than for reports with no coded COIs. Conclusions: Conflicts of interest are prevalent but under‐reported in autism early intervention research. Improved reporting practices are necessary for researcher transparency and would enable more robust examination of the effects of COIs on research outcomes. Read the Commentary on this article at doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13315 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display differences in multisensory function as quantified by several different measures. This study estimated the stability of variables derived from commonly used measures of multisensory function in school-aged children with ASD. Participants completed: a simultaneity judgment task for audiovisual speech, tasks designed to elicit the McGurk effect, listening-in-noise tasks, electroencephalographic recordings, and eye-tracking tasks. Results indicate the stability of indices derived from tasks tapping multisensory processing is variable. These findings have important implications for measurement in future research. Averaging scores across repeated observations will often be required to obtain acceptably stable estimates and, thus, to increase the likelihood of detecting effects of interest, as it relates to multisensory processing in children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During our everyday lives, we are confronted with a vast amount of information from several sensory modalities. This multisensory information needs to be appropriately integrated for us to effectively engage with and learn from our world. Research carried out over the last half century has provided new insights into the way such multisensory processing improves human performance and perception; the neurophysiological foundations of multisensory function; the time course for its development; how multisensory abilities differ in clinical populations; and, most recently, the links between multisensory processing and cognitive abilities. This review summarizes the extant literature on multisensory function in typical and atypical circumstances, discusses the implications of the work carried out to date for theory and research, and points toward next steps for advancing the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atypical responses to tactile stimulation have been linked to core domains of dysfunction in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and phenotypic traits associated with ASD in neurotypical individuals. We investigated (a) the extent to which two psychophysically derived measures of tactile sensitivity—detection threshold and dynamic range—relate to traits associated with ASD and (b) whether those relations vary according to the presence of self-reported sensory hypersensitivities in neurotypical individuals. A narrow dynamic range was associated with increased autism-related traits in individuals who reported greater sensory hypersensitivity. In contrast, in individuals less prone to sensory hypersensitivity, a narrow dynamic range was associated with reduced autism-related traits. Findings highlight the potential importance of considering dynamic psychophysical metrics in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) differ in their behavioral patterns of responding to sensory stimuli (i.e., sensory responsiveness) and in various other aspects of sensory functioning relative to typical peers. This study explored relations between measures of sensory responsiveness and multisensory speech perception and integration in children with and without ASD. Participants were 8-17 year old children, 18 with ASD and 18 matched typically developing controls. Participants completed a psychophysical speech perception task, and parents reported on children's sensory responsiveness. Psychophysical measures (e.g., audiovisual accuracy, temporal binding window) were associated with patterns of sensory responsiveness (e.g., hyporesponsiveness, sensory seeking). Results indicate that differences in multisensory speech perception and integration covary with atypical patterns of sensory responsiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Short Sensory Profile (SSP) is one of the most commonly used measures of sensory features in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but psychometric studies in this population are limited. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we evaluated the structural validity of the SSP subscales in ASD children. Confirmatory factor models exhibited poor fit, and a follow-up exploratory factor analysis suggested a 9-factor structure that only replicated three of the seven original subscales. Secondary analyses suggest that while reliable, the SSP total score is substantially biased by individual differences on dimensions other than the general factor. Overall, our findings discourage the use of the SSP total score and most subscale scores in children with ASD. Implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's vocal development occurs in the context of reciprocal exchanges with a communication partner who models “speechlike” productions. We propose a new measure of child vocal reciprocity, which we define as the degree to which an adult vocal response increases the probability of an immediately following child vocal response. Vocal reciprocity is likely to be associated with the speechlikeness of vocal communication in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two studies were conducted to test the utility of the new measure. The first used simulated vocal samples with randomly sequenced child and adult vocalizations to test the accuracy of the proposed index of child vocal reciprocity. The second was an empirical study of 21 children with ASD who were preverbal or in the early stages of language development. Daylong vocal samples collected in the natural environment were computer analyzed to derive the proposed index of child vocal reciprocity, which was highly stable when derived from two daylong vocal samples and was associated with speechlikeness of vocal communication. This association was significant even when controlling for chance probability of child vocalizations to adult vocal responses, probability of adult vocalizations, or probability of child vocalizations. A valid measure of children's vocal reciprocity might eventually improve our ability to predict which children are on track to develop useful speech and/or are most likely to respond to language intervention. A link to a free, publicly‐available software program to derive the new measure of child vocal reciprocity is provided. Autism Res 2018, 11: 903–915. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary: Children and adults often engage in back‐and‐forth vocal exchanges. The extent to which they do so is believed to support children's early speech and language development. Two studies tested a new measure of child vocal reciprocity using computer‐generated and real‐life vocal samples of young children with autism collected in natural settings. The results provide initial evidence of accuracy, test‐retest reliability, and validity of the new measure of child vocal reciprocity. A sound measure of children's vocal reciprocity might improve our ability to predict which children are on track to develop useful speech and/or are most likely to respond to language intervention. A free, publicly‐available software program and manuals are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) include sensory disturbances in addition to the well-established language, communication, and social deficits. One sensory disturbance seen in ASD is an impaired ability to integrate multisensory information into a unified percept. This may arise from an underlying impairment in which individuals with ASD have difficulty perceiving the temporal relationship between cross-modal inputs, an important cue for multisensory integration. Such impairments in multisensory processing may cascade into higher-level deficits, impairing day-to-day functioning on tasks, such as speech perception. To investigate multisensory temporal processing deficits in ASD and their links to speech processing, the current study mapped performance on a number of multisensory temporal tasks (with both simple and complex stimuli) onto the ability of individuals with ASD to perceptually bind audiovisual speech signals. High-functioning children with ASD were compared with a group of typically developing children. Performance on the multisensory temporal tasks varied with stimulus complexity for both groups; less precise temporal processing was observed with increasing stimulus complexity. Notably, individuals with ASD showed a speech-specific deficit in multisensory temporal processing. Most importantly, the strength of perceptual binding of audiovisual speech observed in individuals with ASD was strongly related to their low-level multisensory temporal processing abilities. Collectively, the results represent the first to illustrate links between multisensory temporal function and speech processing in ASD, strongly suggesting that deficits in low-level sensory processing may cascade into higher-order domains, such as language and communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined unisensory and multisensory speech perception in 8–17 year old children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing controls matched on chronological age, sex, and IQ. Consonant–vowel syllables were presented in visual only, auditory only, matched audiovisual, and mismatched audiovisual (“McGurk”) conditions. Participants with ASD displayed deficits in visual only and matched audiovisual speech perception. Additionally, children with ASD reported a visual influence on heard speech in response to mismatched audiovisual syllables over a wider window of time relative to controls. Correlational analyses revealed associations between multisensory speech perception, communicative characteristics, and responses to sensory stimuli in ASD. Results suggest atypical speech perception is linked to broader behavioral characteristics of ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition defined by differences in social communication and by the presence of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities (RRBs). Individuals with autism also commonly present with atypical patterns of sensory responsiveness (i.e., hyporesponsiveness, hyperresponsiveness, and sensory seeking), which are theorized to produce cascading effects across other domains of development. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in sensory responsiveness in children with and without autism (ages 8–18 years), as well as relations between patterns of sensory responsiveness and core and related features of autism. Participants were 50 children with autism and 50 non-autistic peers matched on age and sex. A comprehensive clinical battery included multiple measures of sensory responsiveness, core features of autism, adaptive behavior, internalizing behaviors, cognitive ability, and language ability. Groups significantly differed on all three patterns of sensory responsiveness. Some indices of core and related autism features were robustly associated with all three patterns of sensory responsiveness (e.g., RRBs), while others were more strongly associated with discrete patterns of sensory responsiveness (i.e., internalizing problem behaviors and hyperresponsiveness, language and sensory seeking). This study extends prior work to show that differences in sensory responsiveness that are linked with core and related features of autism persist in older children and adolescents on the spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]